Geddy Lee Says Neil Peart Hasn’t Retired

A day after Neil Peart seemed to confirm that he was walking away from music, Rush bandmate Geddy Lee is clearing things up. "There’s really nothing to say. I think Neil is just explaining his reasons for not wanting to tour, with the toll that it’s taking on his body," Lee told Prog (via Classic Rock magazine). "That’s all I would care to comment on it."

But Peart, in an interview with Drumhead magazine, appeared to have taken a far more definitive step into complete retirement. But Lee explained that nothing has been decided about Rush's next move, just a week after the release of R40 Live on DVD, Blu-ray and CD. He said that Peart was simply framing his decision to take a break.

"We’ll get together eventually and chat about things," Lee said. "But in my view, there is certainly nothing surprising in what he said. Neil just feels that he has to explain with all the thousands of people asking, ‘Why no more tours?’ He needs to explain his side of it.”

Lee said he thinks Peart's comments were taken out of context. “"That’s their job," he noted. "Talking about something when there’s nothing to talk about.”